Twilight awoke the following morning to find the little Alicorn missing from her side. Immediately she began to panic, a number of terrified thoughts racing through her mind as she stood straight up in her bed and lept down, racing downstairs. She sighed in relief and gave a smile as she saw the little Alicorn sitting in front of an open book. Wait a minute... was she reading it?

"Good morning, Twilight." the little Alicorn said, having felt Twilight's presence. She seemed somewhat occupied as she studied the book before her, flipping a page with magic as she continued to read.

Twilight gasped, her eyes widening with surprise.

She spoke... In a complete sentence... A short sentence but still... This is incredible, I must report this-

"... To Princess Celestia?" the little Alicorn turned to Twilight with an innocent smile. "I understand you were instructed to report to her on my progress. You certainly should."

Twilight took a few steps back. She found herself filled with a renewed feeling of fear as she struggled to shut out her mind, having come to the realization that the little Alicorn could most definitely hear her thoughts. "I... I'm sorry.. I.. I'm not used to..." she struggled to find words, but could not. Just who was this little Alicorn?

To Twilight's surprise, the little Alicorn frowned and lowered her head. "I... I'm sorry, Twilight... I shouldn't pry.. I'll cut myself off from your mind.." she said, starting to sniffle as if she was going to cry.

Twilight smiled softly. Sure, the abilities of this mysterious little filly were scaring her, but she realized that she still was but a child. "Oh, it's alright... I was just very shocked."

The little Alicorn seemed to cheer up at that, looking up to Twilight with a smile.

Twilight approached her slowly, taking a seat beside the little filly. "What are you reading?" she asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Oh, I'm just reading about the worlds geography, and a bit about its history." she replied, looking back down at the book. She was reading a chapter about the construction of Canterlot, which was a part of the foundation of modern Equestria.

Twilight tried not to be surprised, or at least not convey it. It made her squee a bit on the inside, knowing that the little filly she was raising in a sense was following scholarly pursuits. "Oh! I know this book. I've read it several times. It really is fascinating, isn't it?"

The little filly nodded happily. "Oh... By the way.. You wanted to know my name?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes... You have a name? I would really like to hear it."

"Krys. I don't know why, but Krys keeps repeating itself in my mind. So my name must be Krys... I think." she said, looking as if she were trying desperately to remember.

Twilight nodded softly. "Mind if I call you... Kryssie?" she asked. The name was certainly more adorable than the simple four letter alternative.

"Not at all, Twilight! It's... kind of cute... I like it," Krys said with a warm smile.

Twilight had no idea about the development of Alicorns. She dismissed much of her confusion and fear as a simple lack of knowledge on the subject of Alicorn growth, as really there were no books that covered it. "Alright, Kryssie... Um... You haven't gone outside, have you?" she asked, now seeming a bit more concerned.

"Of course not... I.. I knew you didn't want me to. I wouldn't want to make you angry." she said with a tone of sadness. It was clear that she really did want to go out and explore the world more.

Twilight sighed in relief, but at the same time was filled with regret. She would have to ask Celestia in her letter if there were some way Krys could go outside without being noticed. It would be extremely difficult for her to remain hidden for any long period of time, and Celestia had to know this. "You really want to, don't you?"

Krys nodded sadly. "I do... but.. I also want to read more of the books you have here. Especially that one that was flying around the room yesterday! I'm sure whatever is written inside must be very interesting!"

Twilight's eyes widened, realizing that in the confusion of Krys' appearance, she had forgotten completely about that mysterious living tome she had acquired. She was even going to report it to Celestia. How could she have forgotten? She tried her best to come up with excuses to not allow Krys to attempt to read it, however these thoughts were quickly replaced by what should have been her priority. "I, uh... I don't think you should right now. I just got it, and i've never seen anything like it. I need to tell Princess Celestia about it and see what she thinks."

Krys nodded, not thinking much of it. "Oh, that's fine. I just hope I get a chance to read it eventually." she said, sporting an innocent smile.

Spike was coming down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. He twitched a bit as the sight below hit him. "Oh no! We never cleaned up the mess! UGH!"

Twilight noticed this and planted a hoof to her face. Once again she was distracted from the massive mess that Rainbow Dash had created the night before. "We can clean it up a bit later, Spike. Right now I just want to know where that flying book went."

Spike gave her a suspicious look, but chose not to press the matter. It was too early to be starting in on an interrogation. He grumbled a bit as he began to search through the piles of books. It wouldn't be too hard to find. After all, it was at least the second thickest book he had ever seen! He soon found it and simply pointed to it. "Here it is. I'm not touching it! We don't need the stupid thing taking off again!"

Twilight left Krys to her reading and stood up, walking over to the book and gazing down upon it, remembering what had happened when she attempted to open it to read it. "I don't think handling it will make it go berserk. It only started doing that when I tried to open it."

Spike gave a dismissing wave as he headed for the kitchen. "Whatever... You're the expert! I'm gonna get something to eat. You want anything?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, thank you. I have too much on my mind right now to have an appetite." she said in a rather neutral tone. "Maybe later."

Spike shrugged, understanding that a lot had happened. Her loss. Twilight would certainly regret skipping breakfast later.

Twilight levitated the book in front of her and proceeded to head upstairs, looking back at little Kryssie for a moment with a warm smile before proceeding. She set the book on her desk as she brought out a parchment and quill. She didn't want spike to write this one for her. This was far too important to risk any mistakes. She had written a few letters herself before. She certainly wasn't incapable of it. She had gotten much better at controlling the quill with her magic and keeping it perfectly steady. Of course spike would have to be the one to send it. She began to write, focusing her thoughts on the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to take care of this young filly for you. I am somewhat worried about her magical ability. I have never felt so much power from any one pony before, but I trust in your judgement. I am very surprised by her development, and thought it best to report this immediately to you. She seems to have developed the ability to speak our language fluently, as well as read our literature without much effort. This, however, is the least of my worries. When I had awoken this morning, I had noticed this development and contemplated writing to you about it and she actually finished a sentence that I had only been thinking. She has the ability to hear thoughts, but has told me she would refrain from doing so.

She also informed me that her name is Krys. I have taken to calling her Kryssie. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were both present when you sent her, and have agreed to keep this matter secret. I am hesitant to ask you where this little filly came from, and even moreso to ask why, or how she is, well, what she is. I will admit, it has been weighing heavily on my mind since she arrived. If you can provide me any information at all, it would help put my mind at ease. Also, I have a feeling that she will want to explore the outside world soon, and considering how powerful her magic is, I am unsure if I could prevent her from leaving if she wanted to leave badly enough. If you have any suggestions on how I might be able to allow her to venture outdoors, I would be grateful.

In addition to this, I have something else to report to you. I have taken into my possession a certain book. This book seemed like most any other book, however when I attempted to read it, the book itself came to life and began flying about my home in an attempt to evade myself and my friends. If you could provide any insight into this matter as well, I would be most appreciative. I don't mean to bother you, but you are the only one I know that would have any knowledge of such a thing. I know you are extremely busy, but please get back to me when you can on this.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight set the letter down, wrapping it up neatly and sealing it with a sigh. She hoped that her teacher would be able to provide her with some answers. She had a strange feeling that she would receive very few on the issue of Krys, but she disregarded this thought as she brought the letter downstairs.

Krys had finished her previous book and was already reading through another, beaming happily as she read. She had only a few memories, and most of them were very confusing. Some were even scary, but she had been determined to ignore them and simply enjoy her time there with Twilight. She didn't know why at the time, but Twilight felt so much like a mother to her, even though she knew she wasn't. Twilight was taking care of her, and this made little Kryssie very happy.

Still, it was difficult to ignore the allure of the mysterious book from the night before. The very one she had to shoot down with her magic. Something about it beckoned to her, like a thunderous voice calling her forth. She tried to ignore it, but it would prove increasingly difficult. She was a very curious young filly, something that was quite typical of youth. She felt much older than she seemingly was, however. Much, much older, for some reason.

Twilight ignored her for the time being, heading into the kitchen to find Spike. He was munching on a sandwich, which was about the only food he could stand to eat. Twilight knew he craved gemstones, and would occasionally allow him to scavenge some while she accompanied him. He had run out for now, though, and there were more important matters.

Spike stopped and looked to Twilight, noticing the letter she was levitating in front of her. He set the sandwich down and stood up, wordlessly taking the letter and sending it off to Celestia with a burp. "Anything else?" he asked in a slightly grumpy tone.

"Nothing more, Spike. I'm sorry for interrupting your breakfast." she said with a slight smile, turning to return to check on Krys.

Spike gave a shrug and returned to his food, which lacked the rich mineral flavor he desired. He knew whatever it was had to have been important, considering she wrote the letter herself this time. He didn't mind as much, knowing it had to have been related to the little Alicorn filly in some way.

Twilight sat down beside Krys and looked down at the book she had been reading. She immediately recognized it as one of her more advanced volumes which held theories on potential worlds beyond their own, as well as space and the various strange occurrences that the author had witnessed whilst gazing into the stars through his telescope. It was actually one of her favorite books, and she was rather surprised that Krys was reading something so advanced and with such deep theory.

Krys looked up at Twilight with a smile. "You like this book? It's very neat. Lots of information and lots of ideas. It's very... insightful."

Twilight smiled brightly at the little filly's words. At this point she had come to dismiss any confusion and worries aside, as she understood that this little filly was very special. "Oh! Yes, this is one of my favorites in fact. I love anything that pertains to subjects beyond our own world and beyond our understanding. So many possibilities." she said, addressing Krys as if she were an adult and her scholarly equal without realizing it.

Krys nodded. "Yep. Space goes on pretty much forever. There's a lot out there just waiting to be discovered!" she said.

Twilight couldn't help but feel confused towards the first few words the filly spoke. "Space goes on forever..?" she asked, trying her best not to sound too confused or worried.

Krys blinked and looked up to Twilight. "Oh, well, yes... I don't know how I knew that... but... you didn't?" she asked.

Twilight shook her head. "It's hard for me to imagine something like that... Then again, we are accustomed to the finite." It seemed as if there were more and more things that this young filly were doing and saying that would quickly give her material to write to Celestia about. She wondered just how much Krys knew, and how much more she might come to know as time passed. She would have dismissed the little filly's words as childish babble had she not known just how special she was. It actually made her start to think deeply on the matter.

The two would soon engage in a very long discussion concerning many interesting things. Krys could not recall much, but some of the things she did were surprising, shocking, and even some were simply... scary. Twilight knew that pressing too deeply was likely a bad idea, but she could not deny her curiosity. She only hoped that Celestia would not be too upset with her for pursuing this knowledge from the little Alicorn, who was obviously rather vulnerable.

Venara took her place at the meeting table as several officers, including Lord General Xhar, did the same. She had been called to the meeting whilst in the middle of her inspection by the doctor on her ship. The doctor had expressed great concern towards her mental health, and had ordered her to return to him at the soonest possible time.

"We have somewhat of a situation," Xhar spoke with his usual serious but emotionless tone. The officers all turned their attention to him with mixed expressions of concern and curiosity.

"As you are aware, we have sent several scout ships from the Valkarion II to inspect nearby systems. All but one has reported back." he said as a holographic image appeared on the table, displaying one of these solar systems. Solar systems were typically very far apart from eachother, however, any civilization with a particularly advanced level of technology would consider the distance between solar systems minuscule at best.

Voices began to fill the room as the officers began to speak amongst themselves with concern. This was quickly silenced as Xhar once again began to speak. "Silence yourselves." he said. At his command the voices immediately stopped as all of the officers focused their complete attention upon the Lord General.

"Now then..." Xhar continued, gathering himself once again. "... The scout we sent into this system, which we shall refer to as X-229-4F, had maintained hourly contact up until the point they had entered the system itself. We received a distress call shortly before losing contact. I will ask that everyone remain as calm as possible as I play this recorded message back. It is somewhat scrambled, but there is some understandable parts through the static."

The message began to play, and as it did, the expressions of concern turned quickly into ones of horror.

"HELP..... US... WE.......... THEM..... VIRAL....... ATTACK...... UNABLE TO..... REINFORCEMENTS.... PLEASE...."

The message cut out. One particular word had immediately caused the others visible distress. Viral.

Venara was starting to shake as the word had sent chills down her spine. She knew what they were referring to, and also knew that if they really were nearby, it would not be long before they discovered their location. The greatest enemy the Empire had ever faced, a threat which they had once believed to have been eradicated completely, was still out there. Worse still; they knew they were there.

"Why are we just sitting here? We must contact the Fleet for reinforce-"

The panicking officer was cut off once again by Xhar. "Calm yourself!" he demanded. The officers in the room looked uneasy but they did not dare to challenge the highest ranking commander within the entire Imperial Military.

Xhar continued, this time with an obvious tone of concern. "I have already sent a message to Fleet to send reinforcements. However, they will be on standby for dimensional warp until we absolutely need them. Gathering too many large vessels in a single location would only serve to draw more attention to ourselves. For now, the enemy does not know our specific location, but... they will eventually. The best we can do at this time is to maintain as much stealth as possible. We must all prepare for the inevitable encounter. The Empress is somewhere out there in that system, and none of us can enter. We must not endanger her further."

The officers at the table still held expressions of dire concern, but remained silent. Venara herself was flooded with thoughts, memories from conflicts involving this particular enemy. They were powerful beyond belief, and being forced to face them again was a fate she was far from prepared to accept.

The meeting when on for nearly an hour as the Lord General discussed different scenarios and various tactics to apply with each one. All of this was but mere static to Venara, however, as she could barely focus on it. Her mind was already maelstrom of chaos, and this development was the last thing it needed.

She was flooded with feelings of fear, which developed soon into pure hatred. She knew the enemy was coming, and was now preparing herself. She would destroy them by any means. After what they had done, there was no doubt in her mind. She wished to be a tool of their destruction.

The meeting concluded with the other officers rising from their seats and exiting the room to return to their duties. Venara, however, remained seated. Xhar noticed, and also remained seated, looking over to the young captain with a concerned expression. "Captain Venara... I understand that you have had some unpleasant experiences in the past. I cannot even begin to convey my condolences for your loss, but we must remain vigilant and steadfast; unwavering in our duty."

Venara nodded slowly. "Yes, sir... I understand." she said before standing. "How long to you think we have?" she asked.

Xhar stood also, shaking his head. "It could be as little as two weeks, or as much as three months, depending on what resources they have access to. This is only an educated calculation. It could even be sooner. Be prepared."

Venara simply nodded before exiting the room, leaving the Lord General to his own duties.

Why is this happening...? Why are they here? Dear goddess... Please give me the strength to endure... I... I do not know if I can handle this without you.. I do not know if any of us can.. Please, be safe... Please return soon...

Venara prayed silently before teleporting back to her ship, back into the corridors leading to the living quarters. She couldn't possibly handle the doctor right now. She instead chose to return to her own living quarters to sit and contemplate this for a while. She would need all of the strength and resolve she could muster for what was to come.